“It’s not a joke if it’s true.” Knox rolled back down, staring straight up at the blue island sky. “Have you considered a tropical fling? I think a tropical fling is exactly what you need.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“A tropical fling?”
“Stop calling it that.”
“That’s what it would be though…”
Bax’s stomach soured like that time he’d eaten an entire bag of chocolate-covered gummy bears. He didn’t want a tropical anything. He didn’t want to be celibate, but nothing had gotten his juices flowing since he’d left Courtney.
He hadn’t even gotten himself off in the shower this whole time because all that did was bring up memories of her. Bringing up memories of her made him wonder what she was doing, where she was going, how she was feeling about life… about him.
“Was it Sharon? I bet it was Sharon.” Knox seemed to be deep in thought, squinting against the sunshine. “No judgment, man. She knows what she’s doing.”
How the hell did Knox know—
Bax shook his head. “What happened was an accident. Onetime thing.”
“There’s no way you can know that.” Knox was slipping into his all-wise Knox mode.
Bax hated when he did that because usually that was when he was right about things. In this case, Bax couldn’t afford to be incorrect.
“Courtneywas clear, that’s all it was.” There. He let it out. Out there, right in the wild for Knox.
Knox didn’t appear to be breathing, however, as he’d stopped moving and his jaw fell open.
The itchy silence that descended between the two of them felt like Bax had dumped sand into his wool socks.
Then a look of appalled horror sketched across Knox’s face. “Fuck no, you and Courtney?”
“Yeah,” Bax admitted. Look at that, it felt better to admit it.
“I gather that you’ve decided you actually want Linx to murder you with a toilet plunger?” Knox asked, still clearly appalled. “Because it seems like you want Linx to murder you with a toilet plunger.”
“Not particularly.” Though he probably deserved it.
Knox leaned back against his towel, balancing his beer bottle on his sternum. “I’d like to point out that this is fucked up.”
To put it mildly. Bax swallowed the lump lodged in his throat. “I know.”
Knox did not quit talking, nor did he give any sage advice. “But it’s also the best news I’ve had in forever. Do you even know how excited your moms are going to be? They’ve been so disappointed since you two decided to hate each other.”
Bax refused to think of his mother and how much she loved Courtney and wished they’d just get married so she and Courtney’s mom could be official family.
“I’m not sure Courtney likes me any better now, after…”
“Well, then this really is so fucked up.”
“Again, I know.”
Bax sort of hoped that Knox’s thoughts would hold more wisdom than this.
“You had your chance with her and you blew it? I don’t think you know the ramifications of how fucked up this is.” Knox was losing his easygoing charm.
And, yes, actually Bax had a pretty solid idea of how fucked up this was.
Knox continued, “More fucked up than the time I let Sharon take me home and have her way with me as long as she made garlic bread afterward.”
